The miserable cry of being hammered to death by a pumpkin has long since stopped.
But it was like a nightmare, still echoing in the ears of the ministers.
Just when everyone was shocked.
Zhu Di continued: "Liu Lai, please tell me..."
This man named Liu Lai was quite prestigious in the court. He was a royal censor, and he was also ordered to inspect the Chief Envoy of Guangdong. When he heard Zhu Di's roll call, his body was shocked, and he immediately showed a look of fear.
He fell to the ground with a snap.
"Chen...chen..."
There was despair in Liu Lai's voice.
At this moment, of course, he did not dare to follow the example of the censor who was beaten to death just now. He only relied on prevarication to distance himself from the relationship, and ended up with a dead end.
But...the truth...can this be said?
Zhu Di stared at him coldly and said slowly: "After all, you decide whether you want to live or die."
His tone was actually calm.
But at this time, Liu Lai had to say: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty... I... I... said..."
He struggled to say this sentence, and he was already half exhausted. He just said feebly: "I went to the Chief Envoy of Guangdong, and first went to Shaoguan and other places. After an inspection... I noticed many problems, many of which were hidden.
, indeed...it has not been found out..."
Zhu Di said calmly: "Why hasn't it been investigated?"
Liu Lai didn't dare to hesitate anymore, so he could only say with a sad face: "Because... dedicated..."
Donate...
Liu Laiqi continued: "There are many local gentry and famous scholars. On the surface, the imperial court... has indeed issued a decree to allow them to be exempted from taxes..."
"Of course, there are rules for tax exemption. How many acres of land can be exempted from taxes for a person, and how much can a scholar be exempted from... There are rules and regulations. But... just... If it is just a hundred acres of land that is exempt from taxes, in fact...
In fact...it's just a drop in the bucket."
Zhu Di squinted his eyes slightly, his face becoming more and more gloomy.
Speaking of which, the Ming Dynasty treated scholars as much as possible. Not only could they enter the court as officials due to their merit, but they also received a lot of preferential treatment in taxes and other aspects.
But when Emperor Taizu Gao made the rules, he was by no means a fool. How could he allow a scholar with a good reputation to exempt his land from taxes without restraint?
Therefore, the number of tax exemptions is stipulated to prevent this from happening.
Zhu Di asked: "Are the local people dedicating their land to the name of a person with meritorious status to avoid taxes and corvee in order to enjoy tax exemption?"
"Yes... and no..." Liu Lai said: "The reason why it is not is because the land that can be exempted from taxes is limited. With so many people donating their own land, the amount of tax-free land has already been far exceeded."
"But if it is... it is because, although it exceeds the number, because people have fame and can collude with local parents and officials, and collude with each other, they can simply include the donated people into their own families. In this way,
There are clearly dozens or hundreds of households, but
Finally, they became a family... and this family had a public name. On the one hand, they could exempt the farmers below them from taxes and corvees, and at the same time, they could treat them as their own slaves. This way
...This is where the problem of hidden households and hidden fields arises..."
After hearing this, Zhu Di had a sneer on his lips, feeling extremely ridiculous.
The so-called preferential treatment has actually become an opportunity for many people to make profits.
At this time, Zhang Anshi added: "I have also heard some rumors, saying that in the local area, as long as someone gets fame, many people will be willing to sell themselves to him as slaves, or someone will
He also donated his own land. Even this scholar, within a few days
Before, you may have been hungry and cold, but suddenly, after you gained fame and fame, you could have thousands of acres of fertile land and hordes of slaves in an instant. This situation was not obvious in Zhili, because after all, they were under the emperor's feet.
, but in many places, it has become common practice..."
Zhu Di smiled coldly again, and then said: "Very good, it turns out that there is a golden house in the book, and it is true. Liu Lai, since you have found out the problem, why don't you report it?"
Facing Zhu Dichen's cold gaze, Liu Lai tried hard to suppress the panic in his heart and said hurriedly: "After I noticed many problems, I met local officials and gentry wherever I went. The gentry welcomed me wholeheartedly.
There was a small banquet every day, and a big banquet every three days. We chatted with each other, and actually... we also had some friendship..."
Zhu Di said: "National affairs, can we just abandon some personal friendships?"
Liu Lai was even more frightened and trembling, and said in a panic: "No...not just that, but...but...can't be messed with...can't be messed with..."
"Can't you offend him?" Zhu Di smiled: "You can't offend him, but you can offend me?"
Liu Lai drooped his head and said with difficulty: "If I ignore the scholars, the scholars will scold me and regard me as a rebellious minister and traitor. From then on, I will be notorious. If this spreads back to my hometown, my family members will also be despised and harmed."
descendants. But if you...cover for them, I will not be the only one to cover up..."
Zhu Di couldn't help but laugh. This smile was a bit desperate, but he said: "You can calculate this account clearly."
Liu Lai said with a bitter face: "The same is probably true for local officials. If they are too strict, they will definitely be disgusted by the local scholars, and the official reputation will inevitably be greatly affected. But if... they follow their wishes.
, will be praised by others, and everyone will say it is the blue sky. Even when he leaves office, many people will inevitably come to see him off and present the Ten Thousand People Umbrella. How can parents and officials not be able to tell the difference between right and wrong?"
"As for your Majesty... Your Majesty... Your Majesty, you are too far away... Not to mention that when a local official takes office, he will not only be surrounded by cheap officials, but also those ignorant people. If the local official offends the scholars, he will be linked to the local officials.
There is no one to talk to. The only people I can make friends with are scholars and squires, either discussing the current situation, playing chess, or asking for advice on calligraphy and painting. So... naturally... naturally..."
Under Zhu Di's sword-like gaze, Liu Lai shook everything out.
In fact, what he said was nothing more than a sentence. In the final analysis, it is just a circle. Everyone is in his own circle, and he will only value the evaluation of himself by the people in this circle. Whether it is the censor or the appointment of his parents, he is a humble person.
Officials and others should be careful,
Ordinary people, to put it harshly, may not even be able to communicate with each other in the same language. They can speak Mandarin, and they have the same interests as you, and they can ask for such elegant interests as teaching, chess, calligraphy and painting.
, besides scholars, who else could be there?
Everything you do will be affected by them, and your reputation and official reputation are also closely related to them.
Not to mention, within a prefecture and a county, there are quite a few relatives of these scholars who are officials outside, and they are also married to each other. It can be said that they are both prosperous and destructive. Their energy is never limited to the same parents and officials.
With the censor, it really makes me anxious, but it's a lose-lose result.
At this time, Liu Lai's eyes were full of fear and despair, with tears pouring down his face, and he said: "Your Majesty, spare your life, I... I... I... I am the one who deceived your Majesty, I am not the only one... I... I enter
Since the beginning of the dynasty, I have been regarded as a diligent and dedicated person... minister..."
When he said this, he couldn't help but burst into tears.
I don't know if it's because of fear, fear, or... shame.
Zhu Di's eyes couldn't help but become wet amidst the crying.
Zhang Anshi couldn't help but be stunned. He never expected... Zhu Di's reaction today was so abnormal.
But Zhu Di sighed and said, "Liu Lai is a good official..."
This emotion... sounded sarcastic to Zhang Anshi at first, but looking closely at Zhu Di's face, it seemed... a sincere emotion.
As a result, Zhang Anshi suddenly realized what he was doing.
Liu Lai... is indeed a good official. He was a second-class Jinshi in high school. After that, he first became a scholar in the Hanlin Academy and participated in the compilation of the "Dacheng". It is said... that during this process, he forgot to sleep and eat.
Very responsible.
Therefore, he quickly entered the Metropolitan Procuratorate and became the imperial censor. In the process of becoming the censor, he also wrote many memorials, and quite a few of them were about sympathizing with the local people and focusing on the evils of the country.
.
At least... before today, he was definitely a breath of fresh air. Whether it was to Zhu Di or to his colleagues in the Metropolitan Procuratorate, he could be said to be a man of hard work and hard work.
It is not an exaggeration to say that he is a good official.
The fact that Zhu Di was able to directly name Liu Lai was obviously because Zhu Di was very impressed with this censor, and was even a candidate for the emperor's future cultivation. From Zhu Di's perspective, Liu Lai would definitely not be an unknown person in the future.
The reason why Zhu Di lamented like this was probably because his heart was filled with despair and all his thoughts were burnt.
Such good officials, even though they are all like this, cannot eradicate a stubborn disease like Hidden House. However, such a strong-willed person has no choice but to collude with local scholars and parents and officials, choose to compromise, and conceal the truth.
So...even Liu Lai is like this, what about the others?
Zhu Di's pessimism is almost conceivable.
When Liu Lai heard these words, he was already bursting into tears. He had no choice but to snatch the ground with his head and screamed loudly: "A sin of ten thousand deaths, a sin of ten thousand deaths..."
The sound was filled with grief!
Zhu Di stood up at this moment, with deep sorrow in his eyes, waved his sleeves, and said: "You all deserve to be punished, you all deserve to die... But if I kill you all, will there be anyone in the world?"
?”
Zhu Di's pain is obvious!
Zhang Anshi, on the other hand, blinked and said without missing a moment: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty..."
Zhu glanced sideways at Zhang Anshi, took a deep breath, and the sadness in his eyes seemed to be lessened at this moment, and said: "Fortunately...fortunately, there are still people like Zhang Qing and Hu Qing in this world.
Human beings, if not...the Ming Dynasty is exhausted, and even if it can still survive, it will be nothing more than a walking corpse."
After a pause, Zhu Di glanced at the warehouse, sighed, and then continued: "What the state capital cannot do, the postal department can organize it in order in a few months, so what is the use of having hundreds of officials in the imperial court?"
?”
No one dared to respond to these questions.
At this moment, Zhu Di focused his attention on a person and said, "Xie Qing... what do you say?"
Xie Jin, who was suddenly called out, immediately put away his attitude of not showing off that the matter was none of his business.
In fact, Wenyuan Pavilion has some responsibilities in this matter, but not much.
Of course, this does not mean that there is no responsibility, but compared to the parents and censors below, who are obedient and secretive, this responsibility is considered very light.
After all, their name is Zaifu, but they are not actually Zaifu. All they can do is to constantly convey the emperor's will and give some admonitions.
Xie Jin did not hesitate for too long and said: "Your Majesty, the documents of the Postal Department should be copied immediately. Not only should they be submitted to the Ministry of Revenue, but they should also be sent to Wenyuan Pavilion and the Hanlin Academy for storage. But... what I am worried about is that if
In the future, if there are any changes to the Postal Department’s documents, what should we do?”
No one expected Xie Jin to suddenly ask this!
This is also the cleverness of Xie Jin. At this time, he raised a new question, which not only diverted Zhu Di's attention, but also made those censors who had been silent in the Imperial Procuratorate not be unappreciative of Xie Jin at this time.
Jin is gone.
Zhu Di squinted his eyes. It was obvious that solving practical matters was the top priority at the moment. He lowered his eyes slightly, pondered for a moment, and then slowly said: "If there are any changes, just submit them in time to the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Postal Department...
…Exchange information at any time.”
But then, Zhu Di began to ponder again.
If the investigation of hidden households is left to the Postal Department, the Postal Department, after all, is just a bureau under the Ministry of Railways, but it has to bear such a major relationship. At the same time, it needs to interface with the Ministry of Household Affairs and other major departments.
Xie Jin actually said some things that he didn't explain thoroughly.
Because as time goes by, a large department like the Ministry of Revenue will inevitably not take the small postal department seriously. Eventually... the postal department may have to look at the eyes of the Ministry of Households.
Then the situation of the yellow book may be distorted at any time.
As if he could see Zhu Di's worries, Xie Jin said: "Your Majesty, you might as well ask the postal transport envoy to be your minister. I wonder what your Majesty thinks?"
As soon as these words came out, Yang Rong, Jin Youzi and others all looked at Hu Mu subconsciously.
Even Hu Guang was confused at this time.
The so-called Qing actually means that the Postal Secretary is simply upgraded to one of the Nine Qings, just like Honglu Temple and Dali Temple. The specifications are naturally better, and their chiefs are changed from the transshipment envoy to the Postal Secretary.
The Zhengqing also belongs to the ranks of Jiuqing.
Jiuqing and other ministries are not subordinate to each other. Although Jiuqing's official position is higher than that of ordinary ministers, in fact, he has strong independence.
For example, in the relationship between the Ministry of Punishment and the Dali Temple, the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment is the second-rank official, while the minister of the Dali Temple is the third-rank official. However, in fact, the Ministry of Punishment is responsible for all the prisons in the world, while the Dali Temple reviews many cases of the Ministry of Punishment and tries the crimes of officials.
.Therefore, to a certain extent, Dali Temple even has certain supervisory powers over the Ministry of Punishment.
This is actually in line with the original intention set by Emperor Taizu Gao to use small to make big.
Once the Postal Department is ranked as one of the Nine Qings, almost all situations in the Postal Department will have the authority to report directly to the emperor, and many people within the Postal Department will probably be promoted to higher positions.
As for the influence on Hu Mu, it is greater. The serious Jiuqing is undoubtedly the youngest in the Ming Dynasty so far. He is in charge of the affairs of a government office and has the right to go to court and see the emperor. He is considered a serious person.
The Eight Classics reached a high position in the temple and became an important role in the Ming Dynasty.
After Zhu Di heard this, he also showed a bit of surprise at Xie Jin's proposal.
He raised his eyebrows lightly, with a thoughtful look on his face, but soon said: "That's right! It's just... this postal department..."
Having said this, he paused and began to think. Since he was listed as the ninth minister, it meant that in the future the Ming Dynasty would have ten ministers, and his salary would be improved. What Zhu Di was worried about was... the issue of money and food.
But his words trailed off.
At this time, he was planning to deal with the censor of the Metropolitan Procuratorate harshly, but suddenly, there was a faint noise in the distance.
Zhu Di was actually not in a good mood at this time. He looked unhappy and frowned: "What's the matter?"
Yi Shiha hurried out and came back a while later to report: "Your Majesty, there are many merchants gathering at the street corner, and there is a long queue outside."
Zhu Di then looked at Hu Mu and said, "Hu Qing, why is this?"
Hu Mu suddenly remembered something, and then said: "Your Majesty... maybe because... because..."
Things happened so fast that Hu Mu himself didn't even think about how he became Jiu Qing, so Hu Mu couldn't help but feel nervous. He hurriedly said: "It's because... the Postal Department has some affairs that have not been completed yet, so...
Some of the business of the Postal Department has to be handled in the Postal Department’s office..."
"Business..." Zhu Di muttered, seeming to have figured out something for a moment, and then asked: "What business?"
Hu Mu looked ashamed, but still said: "It's about... the newspaper..."
"Newspapers..." Zhu Di cast his eyes slightly and said, "Are you still selling newspapers in the Post Office?"
Hu Mu shook his head and said: "No, no, no, it's not about selling newspapers... but because... because there are newsstands all over the world, and... after having the business of sending newspapers, under the instructions of His Highness King Song
, the sales of this newspaper have been rising steadily! Nowadays, the Postal Service orders as many as one million newspapers every month. In addition to Zhili, all states, counties, and even many villages in the world order newspapers.
There are also many newspaper writers."
After Zhu Di listened, at this moment... the haze in his heart was finally cleared, and his expression suddenly softened a lot, but he said with interest: "A million copies? This is not a small number, this million copies
How much money can I earn from my newspaper?"
Hu Mu quickly glanced at Zhang Anshi, then smiled bitterly and said: "No profit."
Zhu Di: "..."
The daily orders reached one million, but there was no profit, which made Zhu Di doubt his life a little, and he suddenly showed a dull look.
Of course, what happened next was even more unexpected for Zhu Di!
Hu Mu then said: "But... the profit is not in the newspaper, but... in the contents of the newspaper."